Welcome to AMMSA.COM, the news archive website for our family of Indigenous news publications.

Lack of stability hits harder than loss of material goods

Article Origin

Author

By Shari Narine Sweetgrass Writer EDMONTON

Volume

18

Issue

7

Year

2011

Eight-year-old Clairise may be bored in her new accommodations, but her grandfather Lloyd McRee is grateful to not have to join other displaced Slave Lake residents in hotel rooms and community halls throughout the north.

“Sometimes boring and sometimes fun,” said Clairise of living with her aunt in Edmonton, but stopping by at the Edmonton Expo Centre to visit friends who don’t have family and friends to rely on.

“I can’t even remember how long we’ve been here,” said McRee with a laugh. He received notice to evacuate his rental home in Slave Lake on May 14. He, his wife, two sons, daughter and granddaughter are all living with his wife’s sister-in-law in Edmonton.

“We’ve been told instead of expecting to move back in days, it’s going to be weeks. Anywhere from two to four weeks,” said McRee, a member of the Swan River First Nations.

All he knows about the house he is renting is that it has suffered both smoke and water damage.  “But my brother-in-law, his house (in Slave Lake) is totally gone,” said McRee.

McRee’s brother-in-law, a member of the Sawridge First Nation, has to wait on his insurance settlement before he can rebuild. The brother-in-law isn’t optimistic he’ll be living in his new accommodations this fall.

McRee and his family have applied to the Canadian Red Cross for emergency help as well as to access the province’s $50 million relief program. In the mean time, he and other band members have received $300 from the Swan River First Nation to help cover immediate costs.

“I know the money we’re giving isn’t going to go a long way, but right now every little bit helps,” said Kim Delorme. Delorme and Nicole McIvor were at the Treaty 8 sub-office in Edmonton’s west end on May 20 meeting with Swan River First Nations members to do paperwork, offer direction and advice, and hand out emergency cash.

The majority of Swan River members have relocated to Edmonton, said Delorme, although there are a handful in other northern communities.

“A lot of our members were renters in Slave Lake, so insurance hasn’t been a huge issue. But those who did lose their assets, many didn’t have renters’ insurance,” said Delorme. She knows of one member who owned a house in Slave Lake that was lost to the fire. That member had insurance.

The bigger issue, said Delorme, is the loss of security.
“The loss of stability is huge. They’ve lost their jobs and with that the financial support with working. I haven’t heard so much about losing materialistic things but basically not having a stable place to be right now and not having the basic necessities needed,” said Delorme.

Approximately 2,300 Treaty 8 members have been relocated. Members are scattered around the north, taking up temporary accommodations in Valleyview, Peace River, Athabasca, Grande Prairie, High Prairie, Wabasca as well as Edmonton.

Photo Caption: Clairise and her grandfather Lloyd McRee are among the 70 or so Swan River First